Ottawa University-Ottawa is a private, nonprofit institution in Kansas, enrolling 860 students as of 2024. It graduates 22% of students in four years, returns 58% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $28,185 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 7 are flagged: Retention, Graduation, Revenue to Expenses, Endowment, Cost vs. Completion, Tuition Allocation, and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks Ottawa University-Ottawa's most recent reported year (2024) against 2,000+ U.S. colleges across three dimensions: student outcomes, financial health, and value for money. All figures are drawn from federal IPEDS filings and are reported without editorial judgment.
Ottawa University-Ottawa Inspection Flags
Inspection flags are nine independent checks across student outcomes, financial health, and cost-to-value that surface areas of a college's reported numbers worth a closer look. A triggered flag means the college's data met a specific threshold that students and families may want to ask about — for example, graduation rates slipping below a level, or tuition rising while outcomes decline. A clear flag means the threshold was not met. Flags are signals for further conversation, not verdicts.
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Student Outcomes
How students at Ottawa University-Ottawa complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Ottawa University-Ottawa is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Ottawa University-Ottawa spends its budget and what families pay, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
How Much Will This Cost for Your Income Level?
Net price is the average annual out-of-pocket cost for first-time, full-time undergraduate students — tuition + fees + room & board, minus the grants and scholarships the institution reports providing to students in each income bracket. Select your household income below to see the reported figure for that group.
Ottawa University-Ottawa — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Ottawa University-Ottawa. Values reflect IPEDS-reported figures; percent changes reflect endpoint-to-endpoint 2020 → 2024 comparison; percentiles reflect 2024 national rank against four-year public and private nonprofit institutions. Cells marked "not reported" indicate the indicator was not present in IPEDS for this institution.
Student Outcomes
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four-Year Graduation Rate | 22.0% | -35.3% | 21st |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 28.0% | -37.8% | 12th |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 58.0% | -3.3% | 11th |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 20.9% | -35.0% | 10th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | 13.2pp | +42.6% | 69th |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 47.2% | -8.3% | 67th |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 0.95× | -8.5% | 17th |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 860 | +36.7% | 32nd |
| Endowment Value | $25.9M | +46.1% | 34th |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $27.0M | +28.6% | 26th |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 14.1% | -3.0% | 4th |
| Student Support Spending % | 31.8% | +20.0% | 97th |
| Administrative Spending % | 30.1% | -3.4% | 84th |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 1.53× | +15.9% | 18th |
| Average Net Price | $28,185 | +2.5% | 82nd |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $22,449 | -6.2% | 84th |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $22,912 | +6.5% | 85th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $25,525 | -5.8% | 87th |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $30,199 | +4.6% | 88th |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $30,771 | -2.7% | 73rd |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Ottawa University-Ottawa's retention rate fell below 80% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% Ottawa University-Ottawa's 4-year graduation rate fell below 50% in 5 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points Ottawa University-Ottawa's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10pp in 1 of 5 eligible years — below the 3-of-5 trigger threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 Ottawa University-Ottawa's revenue-to-expense ratio fell below 1.0 in 3 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. 2024: 0.95×. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Ottawa University-Ottawa's total enrollment grew from 629 to 860 students between 2020 and 2024 (+36.7%). | Financial Health | Cleared |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Ottawa University-Ottawa's endowment is $25.9M, under the $50 million threshold. A smaller endowment leaves less cushion for scholarships and for tough budget years, even though it grew +46.1% over the period. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| High Cost, Low Completion Ottawa University-Ottawa costs more than the national median AND graduates students at below-median rates — both conditions for this flag are met. | Value for Money | Triggered |
| Spending on Students Below the National Median Ottawa University-Ottawa spends $1.53 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin (2024) — below the national median of $2.75 in 5 of 5 reported years. | Value for Money | Triggered |
| Rising Price, Falling Outcomes Both conditions were met: Ottawa University-Ottawa's net price rose while the 6-year graduation rate declined between 2020 and 2024 — a prompt to ask whether tuition increases are translating into stronger student outcomes. | Value for Money | Triggered |